Civil servants should key into farming opportunities – Dr Hannatu Fika

Dr Hannatu Adamu Fika, a former executive secretary/chief executive officer of the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board, holds a national honour as a Member of the Federal Republic (MFR). She is married to Dr Adamu Muhammad Fika, a former clerk of the National Assembly and chairman of the National Assembly Service Commission. The couple […]

Dr Hannatu Adamu Fika, a former executive secretary/chief executive officer of the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board, holds a national honour as a Member of the Federal Republic (MFR). She is married to Dr Adamu Muhammad Fika, a former clerk of the National Assembly and chairman of the National Assembly Service Commission. The couple both served the country in various capacities at federal and state levels. In this interview, Dr Fika spoke on issues around retirees, their pension and why civil servants should key into farming opportunities.

 

As a civil servant who reached the peak of her career before retirement and taking up an appointment, how would you describe the current condition of retirees in Nigeria?

It is an unfortunate situation because I am one of them. I worked for the state government before transferring to the federal government back in the good old days when we served with dedication and loyalty. We believed that after many years of service, we would retire with some security, but today, things are not okay at all.

 

What would you say is the main issue affecting retirees, especially civil servants?

The biggest problem is the low salary during service. Pension is calculated based on the salary you earned, so if you had a poor salary as a civil servant, your pension would be equally poor. Many retirees get as little as N20,000 monthly. That amount barely meets basic needs, especially with today’s high cost of living. Some retirees rely on farming on the land they procured or were given to supplement their income. However, many are just struggling, especially with medical costs.

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Can you eleborate on medical cost?

Absolutely. For retirees, especially the elderly, medical care is crucial. In many countries, retirees get free medical services, but here, we don’t have that luxury. If you need to test for sugar, cholesterol, kidney or liver functions, it can cost you N30,000 or more. Imagine a retiree with a pension of N20,000 to N25,000 trying to afford that. Most of them cannot survive. They suffer silently; and many die from conditions like high blood pressure, stroke or any other major health issue because they cannot afford proper care. Only a few retirees are lucky to have their children support them financially and take up some basic responsibilities of their parents; but that’s not common in today’s society.

 

That sounds tough. Has there been any government intervention to improve retirees’ welfare?

We heard that the president approved a pension review, but nothing concrete has happened yet. Approval from the top is one thing and implementing it is another. It is really a tough nut to crack. We are stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea.

 

The notion out there is that many civil servants are corrupt, and in many instances enriched themselves with cutting a piece of the national cake for themselves. What is your view?

I don’t believe that most civil servants are corrupt. From my experience, there isn’t much money to steal. Yes, a few indulge in corruption, but the majority don’t see enough resources to misappropriate. A lot of civil servants are into farming. Many heavily invested in farming, fishery and animal husbandry and take it seriously to supplement their income and pension after retirement. Aside that, agencies like the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have helped reduce corruption among public servants.

When I joined the service in 1977, the conditions of service were better. We had housing loans and other welfare benefits that encouraged us to work diligently for the growth of the country. We didn’t have to steal to survive. Interestingly, as a civil servant, the only thing you are legally allowed to do is farming. The government allows one to farm alongside your civil service job; that way, workers were contented and did not have to look elsewhere for extra pay.

 

Tell us more about the housing and welfare benefits you enjoyed.

Back then, the government provided housing, where you would pay a small token monthly until retirement. They also gave loans for building or buying homes. In 2006, houses were sold to sitting tenants at subsidised rates; and we benefitted from that. The welfare schemes helped us build a life for post-retirement. But it is different today as the present day civil servant doesn’t get such benefits.

 

With these challenges, would you encourage your children or relatives to join the civil service today?

Interestingly, all my children and stepchildren work for the federal government. Maybe because my husband and I worked in government all our lives, we instilled discipline and contentment in them.

We also emphasize the importance of saving because salaries and pensions today are not enough.

 

You mentioned that farm as  the only legal side occupation allowed for civil servants. But many of them have gone into farming and it still doesn’t sustain them because it is a huge investment and most retired civil servants don’t have the funds; what do you think about this?

When the government creates schemes to support farming, these retirees are often not qualified to access them because the lack collateral. So we are back to square one. Government’s farming schemes end up being accessed by the big men while the core civil servant who is interested in farming and is legally allowed to do so oftentimes can’t access the opportunities.

If a civil servant cuts their coat according to their cloths, they should be able to farm. For instance, when we moved into this house in 1990 after leaving Lagos, there was a forest behind it with pythons and monkeys, and even men of the underworld would come around. Sometimes you would find a snake in your sitting room. So we were encouraged to apply to the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to allocate us the land behind our house, which was part of the green area so that we could maintain it.

We used that space to start fish farming, rearing chickens and other animals. I remember that during President Obasanjo’s time, he encouraged civil servants to farm. It didn’t require industrial-scale farming, and land acquisition wasn’t as strict as it is now.

From here in the FCT down to Keffi, there was a lot of farming happening back then. Lands didn’t have certificates of occupancy (C of O), but the traditional rulers would sell them and people would farm. The idea wasn’t for civil servants to go into large-scale farming. If you want to do large-scale farming, you would need a C of O and approach the Bank of Industry for funding. But at that time, land was readily available.

Quite a number of civil servants were farming, both in Abuja and the states. They grew yams, potatoes, maize, beans, okra and so on. They were doing very well and still are.

Everyone just needs to cut their coat according to the size of their cloths. We must not all have farms in Abuja. I will always advise that people go back to their villages to start something small and continue at it and watch it grow into a big life investment. Urban areas are expensive.

 

A few are into large-scale farming, but most of them say they only farm for family consumption. Is that the life a retired civil servant should have after 60 years – still working hard to survive?

Well, it shouldn’t be like that. That’s why high-placed individuals are advocating better support. If their passion is properly supported and harnessed, things would be better for them.

We are a lot in Nigeria. The civil service used to be a “job for life.” Once you joined, you didn’t plan to leave until retirement. Back then, how many people worked for the government, compared to present times? The civil service job is still one of the surest, with pension for life. In contrast, the private sector selects who they want. 

But the civil service – once you have your certificate and there’s a vacancy – you are employed and you would grow in the system until retirement. However, today, the sheer number of civil servants makes it harder to cater to their needs adequately.

 

What would be your advice to today’s civil servants, considering the current economic realities in the country?

There are several facilities available to civil servants. They can own homes. They can go to the Bank of Industry for support; and they should plan for life after service. Do not live above your means. Embrace dignity in labour.

 

The debate over a wide gap in pension between core civil servants and agencies like the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) etc has continued to linger. Why is it so, considering that civil servants are believed to be the engine room of the government?

It is not fair, especially considering the fact that pension is calculated as an aggregate of the salary you earned while in service. The salaries of public servants in agencies are significantly higher than those of civil servants. Until these salaries are harmonised, civil servants will continue to earn lower pensions, while those in agencies get higher. That is the reality and it is very sad.

 

Let’s talk about governance. One of the common criticisms of successive Nigerian governments is that they often abandon existing policies or projects initiated by previous administrations. What is your take?

One sad thing is that laudable programmes are often initiated by successive governments, but when a new government comes in, they abandon them, not because they are bad, but because they want to introduce their own.

This is one of the challenges affecting governance today. But one can happily say that perhaps, because the current government is from the same party as the previous one, the present administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is implementing what it met on the ground.

I was listening to the minister of the FCT yesterday while he was at the National Assembly defending budgetary allocations for his projects. He said most of the projects he inherited had been there since 2011. You know, ministers come and either abandon these projects or implement just a bit and leave the rest.

He found these projects on the ground and acknowledged that they were laudable. So he has to continue implementing them.

But because of the age of some of the projects, he had to start all over again. For example, if a project started in 2011, by now it may be dilapidated; if it is a building, it may have collapsed or deteriorated significantly.

I got interested in what he was saying and hoped he could do a refresher course for his colleagues so that whatever they find on the ground, they would continue. This is because governance is a continuous process.